Bridge-Collapse Survivor Did Not Know How to Swim

On Thursday evening, the Skagit River bridge in Mount Vernon, Washington came crashing down much to the horror of a SUV and a pickup truck. Both of the drivers were unable to come to a stop and ended up heading into the collapsing deck. A total of three people were rescued and there were no fatalities. One of those three people was Sally Sligh who stated that she couldn’t swim and credited her husband as the one who saved her life.

Sally and Dan Sligh were driving across the Interstate 5 bridge, during which a semi-truck clipped a steel truss on the span, causing it to crumple. “I don’t know what happened after that. I just heard a ‘bong’ and hit my head and my hip,” said Sally after their pickup truck plunged into the water along with another vehicle. After that she heard her husband asking if she was alright and once she opened her eyes, she realised that they were in the water.

Before she knew it, her side of the truck was being filled fast with water rushing in. Although her husband suffered from a dislocated shoulder, he still managed to pull her over to the driver’s side of the truck before getting her own and keeping her calm. “He is my hero. Without him … maybe I’m dead,” stated the hospice nurse. Sally and her husband were then hospitalised for a night, but for now, they are already back home safe and sound.

“I think it’s divine intervention. It’s impossible for me to believe scientifically that we cleared all of that without some help from somewhere else,” mentioned Dan, who also admitted that he still felt some aches and pains from the accident, along with lasting mental and emotional effects. As for the other individual who was sent into the water as well during the bridge collapse, he suffered from non-life-threatening injuries too. For more of the story, you can read it over here.

Unexpected situations like this could have led to a tragic accident if both husband and wife did not have any swimming skills. Therefore, the best solution would be to arm yourself with this lifelong skill as you will never know when it might just come in handy. In Singapore, Happy Fish Swim School offers a variety of swimming lessons to both children as well as adults. For more information on us and to learn more, do refer to our website.